A Baby Boomer's Common Sense Guide to the Universe et. al.

Poor Little Rich Boy

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 18:02:00 +0000

I'm embarrassed. One of my fellow Baby Boomers has explained why he still works so hard.

Hal Steger is quoted in the NY Times: "a few million doesn’t go as far as it used to. Maybe in the ’70s, a few million bucks meant ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,’ or Richie Rich living in a big house with a butler. But not anymore.”

I don't mean to pick on Mr. Steger specifically, but this is very nearly obscene. It's no wonder the image of the ugly American is growing. By the time someone has turned fifty they should have learned the difference between price and value.

In fairness to Mr. Steger, he's not the only one listed in the article, just the first and most visible.

"I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love"-The Beatles

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
-The Rapidly Aging Baby Boomer

Sex Reminder

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:17:00 +0000

I was pleased this morning when I read of some recent research. As a Baby Boomer, sometimes it's good to be reminded of the incredibly obvious.

According to Seth Borenstein, an AP Science writer, research has revealed that the reason people have sex is because it feels good.

I for one am glad to be reminded me why people have sex because I'm pretty sure it had slipped my mind.
Now if someone would just remind me how to have sex I'd be set to go.

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
-The Rapidly Aging Baby Boomer

Movie Double Features

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:53:00 +0000

The double feature at a movie house has disappeared along with a reasonably sized box of popcorn and a travelogue featuring Lowell Thomas, however I still miss them and am always pleased to attend with the local film organization stages one of its special double feature nights.

Instead of the one first-run film with a second-run or "B" movie like I grew up on they will show two different versions of the same film. For example once I saw the 1954 classic (everything in 1954 is a classic since I was born that year) "Sabrina" followed by the 1995 version. Another evening featured the 1935 Clark Gable and Charles Lawton version of "Mutiny on the Bounty" followed by the revisionist 1984 "The Bounty" starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. My favorite was a long evening that featured Kurosawa's 1954 classic (See what I mean?) "Seven Sumarai" with John Sturges 1960's highly westernized "The Magnificent Seven."

It's been my experience that these evenings generate a lot of discussion about the films. Normally this hasn't resulted in simple declarations of which movie was better, but instead seeing the movies this way provokes thought and comparisons that bring out aspects of the film one might have missed if you had watched the movies separately.

You may wonder what brought this to my mind. I recently saw and reviewed "The Messenger," the 1999 film version of the story of Joan of Arc and found myself wanting to see the Victor Fleming's 1949 version of "Joan of Arc" that starred Ingrid Bergman. Unfortunately I don't have a copy available, but I've add it to my movie list and would love to do a double screening. I suggest you put together a list of your own makes and remakes and spend a nice evening with your favorite movie partner and watch them both. If you think of any pairs of movies you'd like to share, post a comment. I'd love to hear your ideas.

Who knows maybe you can even scare up a Road Runner Cartoon. Enjoy!

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
-The Rapidly Aging Baby Boomer

Password Writer's Block

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 23:59:00 +0000

Do you have trouble thinking up varied and meaningless passwords to use when you signup for a new online account on the Internet? I have the same problems at time and don't want to keep using the same ones.

There are lots of password programs out there that will manage your passwords. Generally they are inexpensive or free. Just Google "Free password manager" and you should find loads of them.

A lot of these proudly announce that they are compliant with security standards of the department of defense, etc. This is overkill for most of us. I remember most of my passwords. If I have some I can't remember I keep a copy of my passwords in a spreadsheet for a reference. This isn't the most secure system, but it's good enough. I've been using personal computers since the TRS-80 days in the late 1970s and have never had a problem.

There is however that problem of thinking up a password. When I find myself suffering from password writer's block I turn to a program such as the one at PC Tools

A click of the button and I get a password I can use for a website the next time I need one. For example I just generated a password Q3spa4eg that is pretty random. By adding more digits I can get an even more secure password should I feel the need.

I generate several when I visit the website and store them in my password spreadsheet read to be used when needed. Until then they are just random bits of information occupying a very small part of my hard disk.

I think that's it for today.

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
-The Rapidly Aging Baby Boomer

Baby Boomer Go Boom!

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 16:37:00 +0000

Baby Boomer Accident. I am currently suffering from a Baby Boomer accident. I fell and broke my wrist on the twenty-fifth. Since then I've done a little work on my blogs, but it's been sitting at home. Reading is difficult both because of holding the book and the oxycodone pills I'm taking for pain. I'll have lots of time to get used to it: eight weeks with the pictured external scaffold, followed by physical therapy etc. I'm classifying this as a Baby Boomer accident because I fell down and went "boom." Is that an old Bugs Bunny bit? I was walking my dog and step out smartly into an intersection. Unfortunately Sam decided to stop and I tumbled over him. It's the kind of fall I wouldn't have noticed twenty years ago, but I'm out of commission for a while. Sam, however, is fine, fortunately. For the non-squeamish, here is a picture of my left lower arm.

Baby Boomer Good Samaritan. I want to offer my thanks to an unknown baby boomer named Mary who helped me home after I fell. What a treat that a stranger would take time to help someone she didn't know. I'm proud to add that although I was feeling shocky and nearly fainted I noticed she was attractive, both as a person and physically as a woman. I'm happy to learn my male testosterone-driven beast isn't dead, though it rarely does more than whimper.

A New Page to Gonzo Journalism? I hope me posts will be more frequent now. Either the pain is lessening or I'm getting used to writing under the influence of drugs. I wonder if this is how Hunter S. Thompson felt when he wrote. Could this be the start of a new journalistic trend: Gray Gonzo journalism?

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
-The Rapidly Aging Baby Boomer

The Generation Gap (TGG)

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 19:57:00 +0000

I've decided to dispense with the popular labels for generations after the Boomers. Frankly, I can't remember what letter represents what generation. I know there's a Generation X and Y, and I think there's a C generation, but that's all I remember. I think a better tag for this generation is, well, TAG. The Acronym Generation.

These generations have the common trait of using acronyms and abbreviations for communications to the point where they are able to make incomprehensible statements faster than we Boomers ever dreamed of doing. The current fruition of this phenomenon is text messaging. Messaging allows TAG-ers to send cryptic messages to friends with both great speed. Judging by the cost, these messages must be pure gold since text messaging can result in spending hundreds of dollars per TAG-er every month.

I started on this rant during my recent vacation when I was trying to order a beer and was asked by a waiter if I'd like an IPA and then looked at me expectantly.

Since I was on vacation my wits weren't as sharp as they are on occasion and at first I thought he asked me to take part in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of some stock. Since I was on vacation I wasn't interested in financial matters. I felt confused and wondered why an investment adviser was still working as a waiter. I mean, the Dot Com Crisis (DCC) was several years back. Surely all the Dot Com Millionaires (DCM) have recovered by now.

One I figured out that IPA could not be a three-letter acronym (TLA) for Initial Public Offering it was smooth sailing. I responded to the waiter's question with a clever, yet sincere, "What?"

"Would you like an IPA?" he responded quickly, hardly leaving room for me to type spaces betweens the words in his sentence. "WldulknIPA?"

This time I was ready for him and challenged him. "What's an IPA?"

"Indian Pale Ale."

Since I was looking for a darker beer or ale I nodded and all was copasetic. That's when I started noticing the lack of communication that occurs when TAG-ers talk.

The immediate cause of this article came about when I was trying to figure out what PNC in PNC Park, the home of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, stood for. It took me two Google searches to find an answer that made sense. It doesn't stand for anything. The company that used to be Pittsburgh National Bank paid for the naming the park, but the company now is Pittsburgh National Corporation and has combined with Provident National Corporation. At least that's what Tom Zemencik wrote in 2001. Even if he's wrong it makes sense to me so I'll pretend he's right.

HAND (Have a nice day).

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
-The Rapidly Aging Baby Boomer

Baby Boomer Pets

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 18:40:00 +0000

We just got home from our trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. The first thing we did was pick up our dogs from the Plush Pooch here in Bellingham. The dogs were happy to see us, but they always have a good time there. We've been using them for nearly twenty years and have never regretted it.

Talk about Boomers spoiling their pets, as we were leaving, a van pulled in from the local doggy day care center to pick up one of the dogs. It appears the dog spends every Friday at the doggy day care. Just because his owner was out of town, that was no reason for him to miss his play date at the doggy day care. So he was picked up for the day and would come back that evening to eat and to rest from his busy day. Too cute for words!

Happy to announce the launch of a new blog: A Baby Boomer Cooks W/O Gas. During one of my middle life crises, I went to cooking school and cooked professionally until my knees wore out. I'm still interested in food of course. I still love cooking, but now I usually do so for only family and friends.

The title is a pun, of course. Professional kitchens here in the Northwest almost always use gas because it gets hot faster. The exceptions are kitchens in high-rise building that have codes preventing gas at levels above ten stories. Anyway, that combined with the Baby Boomer need to avoid gastric irritation and gas led to the title. You might wonder why my first recipe features Chicago Dogs that include Sport Peppers. It's a fair (or, since I'm dealing with puns, a fare) question. The answer is simple. Because they taste so good.

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
-The Rapidly Aging Baby Boomer

How to Tell If You Are a Baby Boomer

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 22:11:00 +0000

Saturday, June 16, 2007

You know you're a baby boomer if:

You rarely see your knees, but feel them all of the time.
"Fiber" refers to your diet, not to your computer network connection.
When you look down at your breakfast and see both a bowl of oatmeal and a bran muffin.
Many of your sentences start with the words "I remember."
You see a pretty young woman and wonder what her mother or grandmother looks like.
You forget what you are looking for twice when you are buy Ginkgo Biloba to improve your memory.

Enjoy your weekend. Happy Father's Day!

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
-The Rapidly Aging Baby Boomer

The Best Peanut Butter Cookie Bars Ever

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:40:00 +0000

On our recent annual trip to Ashland, Oregon to see the Shakespeare plays and relax for a week, my wife and I were fortunate to meet Art Watkins and his lovely, but slightly kooky wife, Sherry. Art is the Sales Manager at the Food Mill, a popular health food store in Oakland. Art gave us a bag of the peanut butter cookie bars the Food Mill makes and sells at the Oakland store on MacArthur Blvd.

To tell you how good they are, my wife and her mother ate them throughout the outdore performance of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" (look for the review I'll be posting in the next few days). As the play drew to a close I looked over at my wife and saw that they had eaten the entire package except for a tiny scrape of the last cookie in the bottom of the nearly empty package. My wife looked guilty and offered if to me. I tasted it, I realized it was probably the best peanut butter cookie I had ever tasted. It's made with healthy ingredients without preservatives and other pesky chemical additives.

I strongly recommend that you buy some of these. If you're interested click on the link below. While you're at it, check out the Food Mill's other products on Amazon.com.

Don't forget to visit the Food Mill website. There's loads of good information that will help you live a healthier and more satisfying life. While you're there take a look at their free monthly newsletter and sign up to have it delivered automatically to your email box

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
-The Rapidly Aging Baby Boomer

Passion for Shakespeare Continued

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 06:59:00 +0000

I forgot to mention in my last post about my passion for Shakespeare and Shakespeare plays that you should take a look at the address for this blog. I had hoped to get a vanity plate once just for when I visit the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR. But all the convenient abbreviations were taken. If you have trouble figuring it out, think Hamlet.

A curiosity, Amazon lists more than 27,000 items about Shakespeare just in the book department.

I really would like to watch some Shakespeare if you get a chance. It's not the snooty, toffee nosed experience the Victorians tried to make it. Shakespeare is funny, exciting (how often do you get a battle scene in a theatre complete with sword fights and cannons) and full of bawdy adult jokes. Try some of these books to see what you've been missing.

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."
The rapidly aging baby boomer.

More Shakespeare Resources

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:11:00 +0000

I'm always excited when I find a new Shakespeare Resource because theatre is one of the passions of my life and I particularly like Shakespeare.

This site has lots of information and some different sorts of information. Instead of just a synopsis of the plays, there's a fair bit of information about some of the sources WS used.

Visit the Virtual Study Hall and learn about King Lear

Just in case you're as big a Shakespeare Geek as I am here are some Shakespeare Action Figures that you might like.

Voyage to the moon.

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 07:16:00 +0000

If you're like me, you grew up in the 1960s when astronauts were the dream job of every kid. I remember watching the John Glenn launch before I went to second grade and then spending the day showing the other students the route his orbit followed.

In Flagstastaff, where I grew up, Pluto the planet was discovered, the current astronomers opinion be damned.

Anyway the newest astronaut toy I've seen is from Google. Make sure you zoom all the way in.

http://moon.google.com/

Take care and say "excuse me all the way."The rapidly aging baby boomer.

Is Failure the Recipe for Success?

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 19:14:00 +0000

On CNN's situation room Fran Townsend, a Homeland Security Advisor described the efforts to capture Osama bin Laden as a "a success that hasn't occurred yet. I don't know that I view that as a failure."

I was really reminded of 1984. This is a great piece of doublespeak.

As a Chicago Cubs fan, I'm pleased to know that Cubbies aren't a perpetually failing baseball team, just a success that hasn't happened yet.

Click here to read the entire discussion. Do a search on "Townsend" it's about halfway down on the webpage.

Let's hope for a happy new year where all members of the political process will work to provide the best government possible instead of working against each other.

Take care and "say excuse me all the way."
The rapidly aging baby boomer-tfedge

Nixon's FBI Application

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 01:56:00 +0000

Under the category of really peculiar and scary I was looking at the FBI's website lately and came across Richard Nixon's application to become an FBI agent!

Can you imagine the sagging jowls and him protesting, "I am not a crook, I am an FBI agent."

However, it is interesting to speculate how his life would have turned out with J. Edgar Hoover as his boss.

Speaking of Nixon, I remember what I consider to be one of the best pieces of political graffiti I have ever seen during the 1972 election. It's a little off color so those of you who are offended by such things should probably take a break.

Don't change dicks in the middle of a screw
Vote for Nixon in '72

Graffiti lately doesn't seem to have the same erudition as it did in the 60s and early 70s. I miss it. Maybe I'll start looking for more of it to share with you.

Look here if you want to read Richard Nixon's FBI Application

Good luck and Happy New Year.

tfedge

How to Study More Effectively

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 22:25:00 +0000

TFedge has been working hard lately to put together some websites and blogs to help you and your children succeed in schools and colleges.

It's still very much in the ramping up stage but definitely worth a look. He claims he's updating daily so you might want to visit it frequently.

Visit the Virtual Study Hall

Happy Holidays!

boomer

All Creatures Juicy and Crunchy

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 18:16:00 +0000

I'm not a vegetarian. I love a nice thick Omaha Steak and a cut of ribeye is just about the perfect meat for me. I do have sympathies for those who are vegetarians as long as they aren't militant about it. However, I appreciate a good joke about anything.

Recently I ate lunch at a Mom and Pop fast food place in Salina, Oklahoma. That's "sah LYN a" for those of you from California. There was a large young man there who had a very clever and amusing t-shirt.

There's a place for all of God's creatures.
Right next to the mashed potatoes and gravy.

Take care and "say excuse me all the way."
The rapidly aging baby boomer.

Friendly Oklahoma

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 17:12:00 +0000

My wife and I just got back from a visit to Oklahoma. We had a wonderful time and were very impressed at how well people behaved towards each other.

At a base ball game, we heard a woman in her twenties who sent her enthusiastic son of about seven years old to buy ice cream with the caution, "Say excuse me all the way."

This attitude was very refreshing and a good lesson to those of us who live in less friendly, less polite areas.

The whole attitude was expressed by the sign above that was located near the Oklahoma State Capital building. It's a good approach to driving and just about anything else to do with life.

Take care and "say excuse me all the way."
The rapidly aging baby boomer.

RSS Connection to Blogger Blogs

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 02:34:00 +0000

Blogs are great. They are almost a killer application based on how they have affected access to the internet.

However, there are so many of them that visiting just a few of those you like can eat up a lot of your disposable computer time. This leaves you no time to seek out other new blogs.

However, RSS has changed that. RSS stands for really simple syndication and it allows you to have blogs and other sites automatically send you updated blog postings, news articles, or whatever.

Instead of spend lots of time surfing for what interests you (who would have ever thought we'd believe surfing could become slow), whether it be BMWs or Mercedes or books of video games, you no longer have to go out and manually visit each blog or website. You can set up your Newsreader (Google as a pretty good one for FREE! to have updates delivered directly to your newsreader.

Many sites or blogs have a button that will connect you automatically, however blogger.com (which hosts this blog) by Google doesn't. Other than this rather strange ommission, blogger is great.

However if you want to add an RSS feed to your newsreader, just click the line that appears in the address box of your internet browser, copy it to your clipboard and then paste it into the appropriate section of the add content section of your newsreader. After you paste it, add "atom.xml" to the address. Make sure there is one forward slash before "atom.xml" and of course, no quotation marks.

Good luck. Let me know if you have questions.

Is Blogging for Adsense Bucks Worthwhile?

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 04:01:00 +0000

The internet is brimming with articles, ebooks and hype about using blogs in conjunction with Google’s Adsense program as a means of generating revenue. The formula for success, it seems, is simple. You blog, you place ads, you get traffic, visitors click on the ads and you get paid. The question many people have about the whole process is whether or not the end result will really be profitable considering the time and effort that is required to implement the strategy.

This question has been difficult to answer, in large part, because of the Google Terms of Service for Adsense users. Although the terms have recently been loosened somewhat, users were long prohibited from sharing personal information regarding their success levels and other key statistics that might have provided prospective for-profit bloggers from developing a clear perspective on the profit potential available.

If you are curious about whether or not you can make blogging with Adsense a legitimate moneymaker, it is worth conducting this relatively simple exercise. The results can give you an idea of whether or not it is worth your time.

First, determine how long it will take you build your blog. Consider the set up time and the time necessary to do initial promotion and to write at least ten to twenty starter posts. We can term this variable ST, for “start-up time.” For our hypothetical, we will say our ST is twelve hours.

Second, estimate how much ongoing time it will take on weekly basis to do additional promotion and to add at least two new posts. Multiply this figure by 52 (the number of weeks in a year). We will term this variable MT for “maintenance time.” For this example, we will set MT at 104 hours (2 hours per week).

Third, add ST and MT. This will give us an idea of the total time required (TT). In this case, TT is 116 total hours.

Fourth, investigate the average value of an ad click in your niche. You can use the Overture bid tool, easily found online, to get a reasonable idea of the value of each click. In order to make your projection “safe,” reduce that number by half. This yields PPC, or “pay per click.” Let’s say the bid tool says clicks related to our keyword are worth about fifty cents. Our PPC is .25.

Fifth, determine how much your time is worth. Do you feel your blogging time should generate at least $10 per hour? $20? This is a matter of personal preference. We will term the resulting variable DR for “desired rate.” We will assess the value of our time at $15 per hour for this exercise.

Sixth, assume a click-through rate of five percent. This is a low figure, as many blogs can generate click-through rates approximating 25%. Click-through rate is expressed as CTR.

Now it’s time to perform the critical calculation. One needs to determine the required number of visitors necessary to produce enough money to make process worthwhile. If we express that number as V, the equation will look something like this:

V x PPC x CTR = DR x TT

This translates to:

V x .25 x .05 = 15 x 116

Or
V x .0125 = 1740

Thus, V must be 139,200. In order to make the process pay, you will have to drive 139,200 visitors to the blog over the course of one year. That translates to approximately 391 visitors per day, on average. Obviously, that is a very “doable” number based on the amount of time we have set aside for the process.

So, for our example, blogging for bucks with Adsense is a winner.

Perform these calculations based on your unique circumstances and you can determine the viability of earning money with a blog and Adsense.

Blogabulary

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 05:03:00 +0000

I must admit I'm a little disappointed. I could have sworn I invented the word "blogabulary" about ten minutes ago. Then I did a Google search and found that others had already used it. So I guess I did invent it, but I was a little late.

BTW, did I tell you about my idea for a silicon microchip?

After reading the article below, visit My Website for more

FREE information about blogs

So, you are considering taking the step of adding Adsense to your blog in order to make some extra money. It can be a wise decision. By using your blog to display contextual advertising, you have created a great opportunity, not only for the blog in question but for future pursuits, as well.

Many bloggers enter Adsense without a great deal of experience in online advertising and its terminology. However, in order to better understand exactly what will be happening, it is important to get a firm grasp on some of the unique terminology used when discussing Adsense and blogs.

Here are some important terms, their common abbreviations, and meanings:

Ad unit. An ad unit is a displayed block of Google Adsense ads. There are a variety of ad units from which to choose. They are usually expressed in terms of their size in pixels. For instance, a 120 x 600 tower ad unit will be 120 units wide and 600 units long--tall and skinny.
Ad placement. This refers to where your ads are placed. Publishers may place their Adsense units anywhere on a page consistent with the TOS. There are a variety of online guides, charts and recommendations demonstrating the various location options and how successful they tend to be in producing a high CTR.
Channel. You can set up channels to track the performance of individual Adsense ad units or to track earnings on particular sites. Channels are established in the Set Up area of your Adsense account.
Click through rate (CTR). This represents the percentage of page impressions that result in a click on an ad at your site. For instance, if your blog gets 100 impressions and 17 of them result in a click, the CTR for your site will be 17%.
Competitive Ad Filter. Google gives you the option not to display certain advertisements via the competitive ad filter. This allows you to avoid inadvertently advertising someone with whom you are in competition, for instance.
Pay per click (PPC). Google Adsense operates predominantly on a pay per click basis. That means the advertiser pays for each time someone clicks upon their ad. It also means that you will get paid for every click.
Terms of Service (TOS). All participants in the Adsense program are required to abide by Google’s Terms of Service. This is basically the "rule book" for Adsense. Those who fail to conduct themselves according to TOS may be banned from participation and/or have their account suspended. Every participant should carefully read the TOS.Publisher. That’s you. Anyone operating a site displaying Adsense ads is considered a publisher.

The world of Adsense brings with it a new vocabulary that must be mastered in order to achieve maximum success. Terms like those above become second nature in a short period of time for most Adsense units. By knowing and understanding these terms, you will be better able to understand your performance charts and will be better able to learn more about succeeding with Adsense.

Visit My Website for more
FREE information about blogs>
Like Native American mysteries? Read reviews at my

"Books that are similar to Tony Hillerman" website.

Mystery Blog

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Sat, 27 May 2006 03:29:00 +0000

I'm pleased to announce my website "If you like Tony Hillerman." It is based on the notion that Tony Hillerman has started a new genre within the mystery writing gentre. This is an ongoing process. I've started listing similar authors who write in the same genre and writing reviews of their books. There are a fair number of them. Currently I've begun with only four of them and only a few reviews. I hope to add several per week. Please check it out and let me know what you think.

mtc

http://home.comcast.net/~mtconner/hillerman/Hillerman-Index.html

To blog or not to blog

noreply@blogger.com (tfedge) — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 05:32:00 +0000

I'm not sure I understand blogging. I mean, what's the point. Do we really need to read the thoughts and opinions of thousands of nameless people?

I'm not particularly interested in the opinions of people I know, much less strangers.

Lately I've been rethinking my life. Last year was very painful to me. I nearly died and found myself realizing that many of the things I did were really unimportant to me and took time from those things I like. I'm thinking that many of the paradigms for learning, success, happiness, being right, etc. that baby boomers were taught to accept are outmoded.

Take being right. I was consistently at or near the top of my class from Kindergarten through college. I was a debate captain in high school and majored in philosophy in college. Along the way, I developed the attitude, that being "right" and having others recognize and admit that I was right was important. To me, being right was intrinsically valuable.

I don't think that's the case any longer. As I look back, I paid some costs to be right. I've hurt people's feelings to my detriment. I've sometimes isolated myself by my insistence on being right. I'm learning to count the cost. Is it really important that I force my opinions on others? Isn't it better to hear what they have to say? I think a harmonious approach is better than being right. Let's face it, do I really have to correct everyone's grammar?

I'm finding that many argumentative sentences start with "actually."

Is is better to be "right" or to be at peace?

Don't forget to check out my "Books that are similar to Tony Hillerman" website.